Places was tied in with Deals -- you had to check in at a location to redeem a deal -- so it seemed pretty weird that Facebook would continue running Deals without a method of checking in.

But apparently, that's what they were going to do. Here's what a spokesperson from Facebook's PR firm told us would happen:

Previously people had to click "Checkin" from a mobile device to claim a deal. Now when they click "Checkin" from a mobile device they will be directed to update their status and tell us what they are doing, who they're with, and where they are. Once a user checks in, they will see if there's a deal available below their check-in. If the Place they're at is running a Check-in Deal, the Check-in Deal information will appear below their News Feed status update story. The user will then be able to click there and claim the deal.

Facebook woke up within the last three days, agreed that this process would be ridiculous, looked at the state of Deals overall, and decided to kill it.

Facebook had already decided this but lied.

Facebook had already decided this but neglected to inform its spokespeople.

It doesn't really matter. What matters is that this is round 2 to Foursquare. And maybe a nice boost for Groupon -- or a confirmation that the daily deals business model doesn't look as good now as it did six months ago.